Hop, Skip and Lifetime Away
by Moon Prynces
Summary: The Rowdyruff Boys reminisce on the past, compare it to the present and fight the inevitable future while also admitting the reasons for their departure from a life of crime. A chapter for each boy.
1. The Past

9-18-11

10:13pm

Summary–The Rowdyruff Boys reminisce on the past, compare it to the present and fight the inevitable future while also admitting the reasons for their departure from a life of crime. A chapter for each boy.

**Disclaimer–I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–Hop, Skip and Lifetime Away**

**Chapter 1–Why (The Past)**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

If truth be told, he did it for the girl.

Yes, it was cliché and stupid and _what if she left him?_ Would he turn around and go back to his old ways?

Probably not. He was a "good guy" for sure now.

Was it easy? No, easy would be a regular, _human _bad guy turning over a new leaf. And he wasn't human. But then, neither was she.

Maybe that was why he did it.

He could feel a deeper connection between them than what normal people must feel. She wouldn't run away from him, or lose interest so easily, or _give up hope_.

It was that last one, really.

She was different than even her sisters. Their battles began and ended the same way – her gaze determined (to stop him), a bit happy (to see him), confident (even if they were supposed to be an even match) with a small, almost unnoticeable, smidgen of hope.

And he never understood what she meant, when he finally identified the emotion. Hope for what?

That this would be that last time he caused trouble? That they would date because she had a badboy complex? That he would become _good_?

"What is it?" he had demanded before a battle. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Her face had taken on an alarmed expression. "Like what?" she questioned while cringing uselessly.

"All...hopeful!" he'd shouted the word angrily enough to make trees nearby shake.

She blinked blankly. "I was hoping...you'd realize." And he waited anxiously, hanging onto her words. "That we don't _have to_ fight."

He'd scoffed.

How could that even be possible? They were enemies. Her and her sisters were created to be good. He and his brothers were created to be evil. Good and evil clashed.

When he'd subtly asked his brother something about it, he was told, "Do what you want."

What a concept! No one had implied he'd had a choice in all this!

Maybe people on the outside thought there were so many perks to being a bad guy, but he just didn't know any better. And he _wanted _to know.

So he somehow let her pull him out of his past existence.

At first he pretended it wasn't what it looked like – that he wasn't ditching his brothers and a life of crime to become a goody two-shoes.

But it wasn't all about good and evil, like he'd thought. He didn't need his every act to be something mean and unjust. And she didn't commit to good like a religion either. She still skipped class on her off days or lied to her sisters (mostly about him in the beginning of all this).

They weren't human. But they were pretty damn close. And people were neither good nor evil; never just one or the other. But most importantly, they chose..._everything_. Every action or reaction could go any which way.

The particular lesson he remembered was when they'd both slipped on a patch of ice. His first response was to jump up quickly – angrily – and bite out some remark before she could make fun of him. But her... She just sat there for a few seconds longer, laughing at herself until her sides hurt and he smiled as he hauled her up while she kept recalling the incident between gulps of air.

He didn't have to be that person, angry and defensive and waiting for supposedly inevitable attacks on his person.

Every day he spent with her, learning something he hadn't known before, he took one step further away from his old life – his old self – and one step closer to her.

They were friends in secret for the longest time before his brothers realized he'd come back from a battle unscathed, not even his knuckles bruised.

And they tried– _tried_ to pull him back into his old life – the one where there was no gray area and feeling angry was so much better than feeling hurt and you didn't have to rely on someone.

But simple things like stealing someone's morning paper or destroying the local park weren't fun or funny anymore.

He wasn't going back to that, not when there were so many more wonderful things to look forward to.

Like her. The girl.

She wanted to be there for him. All that time she was hoping he would realize that things didn't have to be the way they were. They didn't have to be friends or lovers, but they didn't have to be enemies either.

And really, it took so much energy to _hate_ someone the way he and his brothers were brought up to. It wasn't worth it. It yielded no satisfying return.

Being her friend, however, gave him a lot: Laughter that wasn't malicious, joy that came easily, someone who cared as much about his broken arm as his paper cuts.

Someone...who smiled when they saw him.

He knew it seemed idiotic – that he changed who he was for one person who shouldn't matter – but he had a choice. He could do whatever he wanted, based on anything. And if there was ever a really good reason to do something _she _was.

If there was this much to learn and gain from just being friends, then he had to wonder what that _other_ relationship could teach him.

**xoxo**

9-20-11

11:10pm

(Chapters were not written with separate start and end dates. This date is when the last part was finally completed.)

The story will be marked as complete but there are three chapters total, one for each boy. I won't label which Rowdyruff each chapter is about but it should be easy to tell. Next chapter will be out in two/three days from now.

I was inspired to write this from a quote from Sarah Dessen's latest book, "What Happened to Goodbye" (page 368). It goes, "Your past is always your past. Even if you forget it, it remembers you."

Thanks.

9-22-11

2:37pm


	2. The Present

9-18-11

10:13pm

Summary–The Rowdyruff Boys reminisce on the past, compare it to the present and fight the inevitable future while also admitting the reasons for their departure from a life of crime. A chapter for each boy.

**Disclaimer–I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–Hop, Skip and Lifetime Away**

**Chapter 2–Then and Now (The Present)**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

Sometimes when he's not paying attention the urges creep up over him, sinking into his insides, and he forgets that he's changed. He wants to get up and fly right through that window – not considering the damages or injuring anyone – and he wants to laugh like he doesn't care, the way he used to.

And then he's brought back to the present where it's not easy to do such a thing. Because he _has _changed, and so has the rest of the world.

He remembers that the life he used to lead, while fun at times, was going nowhere. He remembers how unfulfilling it was to come "home" to an abandoned apartment complex with no luxury, because they were caught in the act of stealing most of the time.

He remembers...having no one. Because that's what it's like being a criminal. There is no one to truly trust, and in turn you are not trusted.

Even the bonds with his brothers weren't strong the way _she_ is close with her sisters. He still envies them, because he and his brothers still have a way to go.

And they are no longer kids, so the mindless fun he recalls actually makes him wince in remembrance. They were so naïve – everything painted black and white, right and wrong – and they quickly went along with the side that yielded immediate, though lacking, gratification.

Sometimes he finds himself comparing – not to see if he's made the right choice for himself, but just to have the differences laid out plainly.

Getting hurt back then was a few cuts and scrapes and maybe a bruised ego. But now it's not being able to look at someone, or even at himself – a pain so swift and aching and...and it bubbles up from your insides, a part of you, so there isn't anything you can do but ride it out.

Still, the rest of his problems now are nothing but a minor roadblock, nothing he should fret over – not when things had been worse, when he used to worry about what his brothers would eat and how they would stay warm all winter.

So he knows now... He knows, after being on both sides of the fence, that he would rather this than his past.

Sure, the rules are plenty and sometimes absurd, but there are so many more options, so many possibilities.

And that other thing, yeah. Happiness.

He might have thought he was happy back then, with no real restraints and doing what he pleased and when he pleased, but _now he knows_.

Being happy isn't just about doing things, it's about feeling.

He can glance up on a beautiful day and it makes him smile, the sunshine reaching all the way into his soul and it feels so amazing and-and _indescribable_.

It's kind of the way he feels when he looks at her sometimes.

One minute he's staring off – remembering the things he used to do, the person he used to be – and the next he turns around and she's walking to him with her biology paper in hand, ready to compare their scores.

And his insides react with that feeling that makes him think they're glowing with warmth...right before the sudden stab as he wonders what _she _thinks about the things he used to do...the person he used to be.

Even though the truth is...he kind of knows.

It's from the way she easily grabs his face and points it at the numbers on her page, and how she just laughs contentedly when he reveals that he got a higher grade, and that as they walk to the ice cream shop so she can treat them both as a reward she slides her hand into his and pulls him along to walk faster.

His past is always there, not lurking around and waiting to strike back or haunting his every moment, but just serving as a way to measure his newer experiences and choices, to reassure him that things are better now than they were before.

Unlike his brother, he doesn't need someone to show him the way, to sway in his path and turn him around. He knew what he was getting into. He knew the differences were great.

He did this all by himself, _for_ himself.

And he won't be turning back anytime soon.

**xoxo**

9-20-11

11:10pm

I apologize. This chapter should have gone up earlier today but I was out early and didn't get back until an hour ago.

Thanks for reading, reviewing and everything else. Chapter three, the final chapter, will be out in three days from now. Also, I think I'll just reveal at the end of it who I wrote each chapter for.

9-25-11

8:19pm


	3. The Future

9-18-11

10:13pm

Summary–The Rowdyruff Boys reminisce on the past, compare it to the present and fight the inevitable future while also admitting the reasons for their departure from a life of crime. A chapter for each boy.

**Disclaimer–I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–Hop, Skip and Lifetime Away**

**Chapter 3–Inevitable (The Future)**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

No.

No way!

It will never happen.

He is adamant. And pissed.

Why in the hell would he give up what he has?

He can roam the city– the entire _world_ as he pleases! He can get himself meals when he feels the need! He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants!

Kind of.

Anyway, being "good" or whatever it is that his brothers are doing is so much work! Being selfless and caring and holding back the urges to slam one's fist into a wall or someone's face is more than he can handle.

All that effort! Wasted!

There are too many rules, he grumbles while sinking into the beaten couch in the dark apartment with sunlight peeping through the blinds, all by himself.

He doesn't even know where they are, and for a moment it worries him. Neither he nor his brothers have ever really just..._separated_. Not for any extended period of time. Not for good.

He snorts in dissatisfaction and leans forward, his forearms resting on his thighs.

He can't believe they ran off just for some skirts. They didn't need girls! And especially not _those_ girls.

Never, he thinks calmly now, as a street lamp flickers on.

And anyway, if they wanted to "be together" and all that romance bullshit, why did his brothers have to turn over? Why couldn't those-those _girls_ change?

But deep down...he knows no one forced them, twisted their arms, _made them_ do what they did. And deep down he knows what his future holds.

Being a criminal is so much fun though. And being a villain is exhilarating and wicked. And fighting with his counterpart is dangerous and _fascinating _and...provocative.

How would he give up these things that he enjoys so much? How did his brothers?

Probably because they stopped enjoying it. Or maybe they never really had – he doesn't know anymore.

No matter _if _he decides to…to…_change_, won't it be damn near impossible for him? Forget the taming of his instinctive urges or toning down his quick temper, but who would care? Who would be there to help him and make him feel welcome? What would his incentive be?

He leans back into the couch slowly, arms spreading out across the top.

As much as he admires her in a skirt when the wind picks up, they aren't close or anything. She has no hold over him.

And he almost wishes he could understand what change took over the redhead, because it actually wasn't the girl.

His head leans back to stare at the ceiling before his eyes close.

He would do it...for them. He couldn't sit here in this dingy apartment all alone. He couldn't go off exploring the world by himself. He couldn't stand the thought of not getting into any stupid little arguments with those two.

He needs them.

But...would they even care? Do they wonder where he is and if he's okay like he does about them? Have they moved on with their new lives of rainbows and sunshine and a pretty girl smiling at them?

He thinks for a moment that it's better they are separated. Because they probably don't need _him_.

Of their trio he is the most ruthless, stubborn and hasty. He would be too difficult to tame, and hard to keep tame. The person he is right now will always try to crawl into the life that he doesn't even have yet, his inevitable future self, tempting him away from being a do-gooder.

Even right now, he can feel the need to smash through the window of any shop just to hear the alarms go off. He's already anticipating the next fight with his counterpart, fingers twitching.

He wonders if he really will get bored of all this.

What will he do instead? Get a job like every other citizen of this seemingly picturesque town? Go to school where someone his age should be?

He's starting to get bored right now, if only because he's just a bit lonely.

He knows how his future's going to turn out, he thinks as he stands up slowly and looks around the space. He knows exactly where he's going, but he just needs time to get there.

And he hopes that inkling he has will turn out to be true: that he has at least two people waiting for him if– _when_ he turns over and leaves this behind.

**xoxo**

9-20-11

11:10pm

This is the final chapter. If you couldn't figure out what I was aiming for, then here it is: the first chapter was Boomer, the second was Brick and this last is Butch.

Thanks for reading.

9-28-11

1:35pm


End file.
